Has Our Nation Gone Mad? What about Christians? If you were to agree, what are you doing about it? It's a scary proposition but I will never forget Edmund Burke's medicinally stinging quote: "The only thing necessary for for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." What Burke said has awakened me from the slumber of fear.
I'm constantly inspired by the intellect and principles of Chuck Colson. Though he went to heaven in 2012, I believe his commentaries still resonate with great relevance and helpfulness in today's chaotic zeitgeist.
"This country has lost its
mind. Just ask Soren Kierkegaard. OK, that’s a bit cryptic, but read today’s
commentary, and I’m sure you’ll agree.
Just when you thought it
was safe to turn on your TV, there it was again—another mind-numbing story
about politics.
You might have thought
we’d catch a breath after President Obama’s historic election. But no, we’ve
been treated to daily doses of political news ever since—the “historic”
election of Republican Senator Scott Brown, Tea Party events, and weekly
political scandals. Now, we’re looking ahead to November and the next “most
historic election ever”—the one that will finally save America.
Are we all losing our
minds, spending half our lives watching politics on the tube? I’m reminded of
the words of Soren Kierkegaard, the 19th-century Danish philosopher. Almost 100
years before the invention of television, Kierkegaard predicted what would
happen if such a thing were invented. “Suppose,” Kierkegaard wrote, “someone
invented...a convenient little talking tube which could be heard over the whole
land. I wonder if the police would not forbid it, fearing that the whole
country would become mentally deranged.”
He was right: We are
becoming deranged. We are succumbing to what French philosopher Jacques Ellul
prophesied in the 1960s—the politicization of all aspects of life. Ellul
foresaw the Information Age and the media’s need for a steady flow of
information to feed the populace. Media therefore would gravitate to covering
centers of power. Politicians would be willing accomplices, because they’d gain
fame and clout.
We’ve succumbed to what
Ellul predicted—the idea that every problem has a political solution.
This, he warned, leads to increasing dependence on the state and decreasing
citizen control of government.
The result: The structure
of government becomes so unwieldy that it can hardly function. For example,
we’ve spent billions fighting terrorism—but we couldn’t stop “the underwear
bomber” from boarding a U.S.-bound plane, even though his name was on a
terrorist watch list.
Ellul also foresaw that
when government becomes all-intrusive, the intermediate structures that keep
societies vibrant—families, churches, and voluntary associations—collapse and
tyranny follows.
What’s the answer? First,
we better recognize that politics is not the be-all and end-all. Politics is
merely the expression of culture. Clean up culture—that’s our job—and politics
will follow.
This happened when God’s
people were awakened in England in the 18th and 19th centuries. England then
was in worse straits than we are today, with slavery, child labor, and rampant
political corruption. But along came William Wilberforce, the Oxford movement,
and the Salvation Army. What followed was a great, century-long revival of
Christian faith. England was not only saved in the Wesley revivals, it was
stronger than ever.
So we as 21st-century
Christians must do the same thing. And there is no time to lose. If, as I
believe, the political illusion has America by the throat, there are only two
likely outcomes—revolution, which is what the Tea Party people suggest (albeit
peacefully), or tyranny.
God has acted again and
again through His people to change history’s course. But for that to happen,
the Church had better sober up, summon its spiritual resources, expose the
political illusion, and begin to defend and live the Christian faith in our
culture."
Source: http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/entry/13/14201
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